The Arrest of Ethel Rosenberg
History Daily
History Daily
4.4 • 2.5K Ratings
🗓️ 11 August 2025
⏱️ 21 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
August 11, 1950. The alleged traitor Ethel Rosenberg is arrested on allegations of spying for the Soviet Union. This episode originally aired in 2022.
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Transcript
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| 0:27.7 | It's O 11, 1950 in New York City. |
| 0:29.9 | It's a stifling day in Manhattan. |
| 0:36.5 | The asphalt cooks, trees droop in the heat, and sun gleams harshly off the windows of skyscrapers. |
| 0:41.4 | At Foley Square, the doors to the United States Federal Courthouse swing open, |
| 0:45.1 | and a woman in a sleetless white summer dress hurries outside. |
| 0:48.9 | 32-year-old Ethel Rosenberg is soon sweating into heat, |
| 0:51.8 | but she's just glad to be out of the building behind her. |
| 0:55.1 | The marble halls of the federal courthouse were cool enough, |
| 0:59.9 | but giving evidence before a grand jury is not Ethel's idea of a relaxing afternoon. |
| 1:03.1 | All she wants now is to get home to her children. |
| 1:07.6 | Ethel crosses the courthouse portico with its grand stone columns and clips down the steps toward the street. |
| 1:10.3 | There she hurries across the square, |
| 1:12.1 | dodging traffic as she heads for a nearby subway station. But Ethel hasn't gone far when she |
| 1:17.2 | sees a man in a dark suit emerge from among the trees in the square. He's moving to cut her off, |
| 1:23.3 | so Ethel quickens her pace. But her pursuer catches up and steps into her path. |
| 1:29.2 | At the same time, another suited man appears from behind and grabs Ethel by the arm. |
| 1:34.6 | Before she can resist, one of the men in suits tells her they're from the FBI, |
| 1:38.9 | and she's under arrest. |
... |
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